Reduced to This
by Angel Sentier
Summary: Teri's on the run from Ginger the megabitch, and it's not looking good for Danny either. What's a girl with a hit man on her ass to do? Hide where they'll never look... Not your typical Snow White. The 3rd story in our Fairy Tale Series. Please R&R!
1. Soda Issues

------NEWS!------  
If you enjoyed this story and it's companions and want more... We are currently adapting these stories as Audio Dramas! So, you can hear Teri, Danny, and everyone else as these stories are woven together in an on-going radio play! And it's not just what we have of these stories, oh no... The audio series will go above and beyond what's on these pages. We're very excited about it and thought we'd share this with our readers who have been so supportive and patient with us.  
For more information, please visit pendantaudio dot com and please have a listen to the other shows as well, the people at Pendant Audio are so multi-talented and their shows are very entertaining! (And you may hear me and Parsley acting in them, as well!)  
Happy listening!

--Angel Sentier--

* * *

REDUCED TO THIS

By Angel Sentier and Lady Parsley

Chapter One

_This movie sucks. _Teri glanced at her cell phone. The glowing numbers told her that she'd been sitting for a full fifteen minutes waiting for Chloe to come back from the bathroom. _That bitch. She ditched me!_ She sighed and looked back up at the movie screen, crossing her arms resolutely. _Well, I am _going _to watch this movie if it kills me._

Fifteen minutes later...

"This movie may very well kill me," she said, not bothering to keep her comments to herself anymore. It's not like anyone was really interested in the flick. Well, with one exception...

"Oh, my _God,_" said Princess from the other end of the row. "This movie is _soooo_ good! I mean, I like it so _much_!"

Teri leaned her head over to roll her eyes at the bleached blond bimbo. "You would, Princess," she said.

"Shhh!" she hissed. "I'm trying to watch the movie! Rude, much?"

"Whatever..." Teri sat back in her seat and took a long swallow of soda.

Up on the screen, Alexei had just found his family massacred, Batman-style, having shown up just a little too late. He was currently going on a killing spree, trying to get revenge on the corrupt ex-Interpol agents.

"Yeah, and who didn't see _that_ coming?" Teri asked to the open air. "Five bucks says he kills some innocent guy and gets the guilt trip that gives him a noble purpose for the rest of the movie. Any takers? Anybody?"

Nobody spoke up. She guessed because it was probably too much of a sure thing. "Oh, well... So much for making this movie somewhat interesting."

Another fifteen minutes later...

_"I don't want to replace your family, Alexei," _the tawny bombshell in the slowly-being-removed catsuit was saying. _"Just give me the chance to help heal your wounds!"_

"Yeeeeeeeah, riiiiiiiiiiight!" said Teri, slouching low in her seat, unable to find the energy to sit up any longer. "Who talks like that during sex? I mean, really. If it's good and it feels the way it should, then your vernacular should only consist of 'yeah,' 'more,' and 'now.'" She took another sip of soda and found it empty. Suddenly, getting more to drink was way more important than seeing the last fifteen minutes of the movie. "I don't need to see the credits. Then I'll know who to kill..."

She hoisted herself out of the seat and made for the lobby. She paused momentarily when she saw at the concession counter Ginger's other assistant, Daniel Peer. He was bent over, giving something on the counter his utmost attention, which afforded her quite a candid look at his ass. She sighed, contentedly. _I hate to see him go, but I love to watch him leave..._

Locking that away in the 'pretty file,' she came closer and saw a calculator, an exacto-knife, and a box of Whoppers which he was reading like a book, all spread out before him.

Not wanting to break his concentration, or maybe just to freak him out, she tiptoed up to him and whispered close to his ear, "What are you doing?"

He started slightly. "Teri!" he exclaimed, further betraying his shaken composure by using her first name. "Oh, I mean... Ms. Snowden."

She shoved him in the shoulder. "I've told you before, you don't have to call me that. Now what the hell are you doing with an exacto-knife and a calculator in the middle of a movie theater lobby?"

He sighed, looking back at the box. "I'm trying to figure out if one serving of Whoppers has one hundred and twenty-three calories, and there are forty-six Whoppers to a box, and three servings per container, how many times do I have to cut one in half before Ginger can eat them?"

Teri shook her head. "I can't believe she has you out here, calculating Whoppers. It's not like you're missing anything inside, but still..." Her expression softened a bit. "You know, if you worked for me, I'd never make you do this. You know why? Because I'd eat the whole box." She reached out and grabbed one of the Whoppers, popping it in her mouth before he could stop her.

"No!" he said. "My calculations!"

She laughed lightly. "I helped you. Give her fifteen."

He punched the numbers in the calculator, and a relieved smile broke out across his face. "Thank you," he said.

"No problem." She gave the concessionist her cup for a refill of Coke, then looked back at Daniel who was still standing there. "Don't you need to go give those to her?" she asked.

He only looked moderately guilty. "I'm... taking a break."

"When you work for her, I can understand." She took her Coke back, thanked the teenager, and turned back to Danny. Suddenly, she could think of nothing more to say. "So..."

"So... How are things?"

"Good. Good. Movie sucks, but I'm good."

"Great. Yeah. And business?"

"It's good, it's pretty good." There was a pause as Teri took a gulp of her soda, glancing around for something to comment on. Finding nothing, she said, "Um... How are things with you?"

"Good! They're good. Ginger's a bitch, but you know... It's a living."

"Yeah, uh-huh." Pause. "Uh... Business?"

"Good."

"Good."

Teri tapped her foot nervously. She waited a few seconds, then blurted, "Is it just me or does this conversation suck?"

Danny breathed a huge sigh of relief that he'd apparently been holding for a while. "I thought it was just me..."

"No, it usually takes two to make a terrible conversation." Though, she had no idea why whenever she spent more than five minutes with Danny Peer, all her smart comments just went right out of her head. After that, she was hard pressed to think of anything beyond how great his ass looked in those pants. He didn't seem to fare much better, if their current conversation was any indication.

However, before they could get any further, the doors of the theater opened. The movie was over. Teri sighed and shrugged at Danny.

"Back to the grindstone."

He nodded, somewhat unhappily. "Well..."

"Well?"

"N-nothing," he said, shaking his head.

As Teri watched, and people were beginning to come out of the theater, Philip Carter Grayson walked _in_ to the theater through the front doors. She huffed. "Not even _he _could stand that awful coma-inducing movie." Unable to resist, she lined up with a bunch of others to meet him. If nothing else, this was how she could get back at Chloe for ditching her.

Nearby, Ginger came out of the theater and sauntered directly up to Danny. Teri shook her head as the poor man practically cowered before the woman. Ginger's piercing tone carried effortlessly, so Teri heard everything she said.

"Forget that," she said, waving a hand at the perfectly separated Whoppers. "Get me a diet soda."

Ginger turned away and Danny, with an expression of extreme annoyance, bowed mockingly behind her back. When the red head unexpectedly turned back around, he pretended to be tying his shoelace. "My _soda_, Peer!"

"Yes, Ginger..." He went back to the concession counter.

Meanwhile, Teri turned back around to end up face to face with the movie's star.

"Hello," he said with a disarming, flashing smile. "I'm Philip Grayson."

Teri took the proffered hand and shook it firmly. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Grayson. Teresa Snowden, Premiere Advertising."

His expression lightened to one of acknowledgement, recognizing the name of the ad firm promoting the movie. "Ah, Premiere! What did you think of the movie?"

With a wide smile, Teri cheerfully said, "I think it was rather like someone with dysentery crapped in a bucket, then splashed it in Jackson Pollock-like fashion all over the movie screen."

Philip blinked, his mouth falling open slightly. "Wow," he said, finally. "Your view is... new, refreshing, and... rather disturbing."

"Thanks!" She pumped his hand a few more times. "Good luck at the after-party!"

He nodded, too stunned to do much else. "Thanks... Tamara."

As she walked past the concessions again, she noticed Danny crumpled on top of the counter, moaning and shaking his head back and forth. "No... No..." was all he seemed to be getting out.

She went to him again and patted his back. "What's wrong, Danny?" she asked, concerned.

He looked up at her, dismayed. "They're out of diet soda. _Out._ It's _gone_. Do you know what that means? Ginger's going to kill me!"

"It's not your fault they're out of diet..."

"Do you think that'll stop her?" he asked.

"Probably not..."

"_Peer!_" bellowed Ginger from the other end of the lobby. "Where's my soda?"

Danny actually flinched. Teri looked from him to Ginger and back again. She looked at the half-drunk soda in her hand and inspiration struck. And if it worked, she'd get something in return... "If I get you out of this soda mess, you have to take me to lunch."

His eyes widened slightly, but then he shook his head. "Ginger will still--"

"Oh, no, she won't," said Teri. "I'll make sure of it. Deal?"

He shrugged and took her hand. "Deal."

She grinned at him, then marched right over to where Ginger was standing. She took a long drink of the soda, and smiled sweetly at the woman. "Mmmm... You know, Ginger, this diet soda is _really_ something."

Ginger's violet eyes slid over to Teri. "What?"

"Yeah. I usually drink the leaded stuff, but I see you drinking this all the time and I thought to myself, 'you know, I admire Ginger soooo much, I should try drinking her soda.'"

"You _what?_" asked Ginger, suspiciously.

"Well, you're such a great ad agent, and I figured, the more diet soda I drink, the more like you I'll become."

"_Why _are you telling me this, Snowden?" she asked, annoyed.

"I'm saying that I probably should have stopped after the sixth or even the seventh diet Coke, since by then it was mostly carbonated water, hardly any syrup at all, but I wanted _so much _to be like _you_, Ginger, I figured I'd just drink them dry!" She tossed back the remainder of the soda, making a show of licking her lips. "Mmm! Now, that's some _good _soda!"

Teri had to resist giggling with glee as she watched Ginger just become angrier and angrier before her very eyes. She fairly shook, her hands balled into fists, and her full red lips had curled back slightly into a tiny snarl.

Danny took that moment to approach cautiously and say in a small voice, "Um, Ginger... They're all out of diet soda."

"Oh, that's too bad!" said Teri with false sympathy. "Well, I'm sure there's plenty of _regular _soda left... That is, if you want to sink to _my_ level."

And just as Teri expected, Ginger ignored Danny completely and focused all of her rage on the woman before her. "You _bitch_! You did it on purpose! You've always wanted everything that's mine!"

Danny glanced around them, beginning to look nervous again. "Ginger... Maybe you should lower your voice..."

"Shut _up_, Peer!" she said, not even bothering to look at him. "You've always been jealous of me! Because I'm better than you!"

"Sure, Ginger," said Teri, perfectly calm in the face of the storm. "You're such a better agent than me. Is that because you proof-read your own copy and type up your own proposals? Oh, no, you have your assistants do that, like Danny."

"I'm more successful!" Ginger said, practically spitting out nails. "You'll never get where I am!"

"Ms. Carlyle," said someone behind Ginger. "You should calm yourself!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" she yelled, but her focus was still on Teri.

"If I recall," said Teri. "We're about at the same level."

"Not for long!" Ginger sneered. "I'll get the promotion because everyone on top likes _me_! And then you'll be answering to _me_, Snowden!"

"Now, do they like you because of what you do for the company, or because of your _extracurricular _activities?"

"Shut up! Shut _up_!"

"Ms. Carlyle!" exclaimed a new voice from behind her.

"Will you shut _up_, you _idiot_!" Ginger finally turned to see who it was that was ordering her around, and to soundly tell them off, and found two of the big executives of the company standing behind her, stern expressions on their faces.

"Ms. Carlyle," said one. "You have made a _scene_."

"Ah... Ah..." Ginger mouthed helplessly like a beached fish.

"We expect better from our employees," said the other. "Especially from _you_, Ms. Carlyle!"

Both of them glared at her, and then walked out of the theater without another word. Ginger stared after them, still apparently at a loss for what to say. Teri patted her on the back consolingly.

"Well, in the immortal words of Stewie Griffin: I'd love to stay and chat, but you're a total bitch." And with that, she walked off, tossing the empty soda cup into a trash can. She threw a look over her shoulder at Danny, who was moving a safe distance away from Ginger. "Lunch," she said, happily. "Call me!"

Since she no longer had a companion for the after-party, Chloe had probably long ago called a cab and gone home, Teri walked to the parking lot and climbed inside her green Saturn. She wasn't really dressed for an after-party, anyway... It was, at the very least, a buttoned shirt affair.

* * *

"She did it on purpose!" 

Danny closed his eyes for a moment, gritting his teeth, as Ginger continued to go on about the soda incident. The others in the limo, Staci and Jason, and Princess and the hapless model wanna-be she'd suckered into coming with her, were hanging on her every word. All Danny wanted was to get to the after-party as soon as possible. Once there, Ginger would have to put on her 'nice face.'

"She deliberately baited me, knowing I'd lose my temper, and in front of the executives!" Her fists were clenched so tightly, Danny was sure her nails were going to cut through her skin at any moment... "I swear, one of these days, that fat bitch is going to get what's coming to her!"

_Here it comes,_ he thought, dreading this moment.

Ginger turned to him, pointing one long, perfectly painted nail directly in his face. "_You_ will find out tomorrow, the _second_ you get into the office, where we stand. You do your little suck-up routine and find out who's first in line for the promotion!"

"I've already done my 'little suck-up routine' every day this week," said Danny, quietly. "They're going to catch on sometime!"

"What the hell do I pay you for?" she asked him, but he knew she wasn't expecting an answer. "I pay you to be my informant! What I need to know, you get for me! I don't care _what _you have to do, if you have to suck somebody's dick, I suggest you get yourself some knee pads and change your name to Mr. Hoover!"

Princess, in typical fashion, tilted her head, a look of confusion spreading across her features. "But... his name's already Peer..."

Ginger turned her glare to the blond. "_You_ are only allowed mono-syllables for the rest of the night, Princess. Phrases are to consist of no more than six words."

Her eyes widened, her bright pink lips parting in indignation. "But that's not fair!" She paused, counted on her fingers, and made a face when she realized she'd just automatically done as Ginger commanded. "Damn..." She pouted for a moment before the confused look returned. "What are the knee pads for?" She counted again and struck her tiny fist on the seat next to her. "Damn!"

Staci rolled her eyes. "You should _know_, Princess..."

Jason leaned back, resting an arm on the back of the seat behind his date. "Why don't you just get Chloe to do it?" he asked.

The brunette made a face like she'd just walked into the grand ballroom and smelled cabbage cooking. When she turned to look at him, however, that expression melted to one of saccharine sweetness. "Jason," she said, placing a French manicured fingertip to his lips. "Shh... The girls are talking." She looked back at Ginger and rolled her eyes. "Well, Ginger... What _are _you going to do about Snowden?"

"I don't know yet," answered Ginger, and it was clear from her face that it was an answer she did not like giving. "But I'll think of something..." She sat back in her seat, her fists finally coming unclenched. "By the way, all of you find your own way home. _I'll_ be taking the limo."

Danny resisted the urge to roll his eyes. _As usual, the paragon of grace and virtue is thinking of everyone but herself..._

Staci grinned. "Who will you be going home with?"

The redhead tossed her carefully styled locks. "Without a doubt, the movie's star."

"Philip Grayson?" asked Princess excitedly.

"No, the _other _star," she replied, nastily. "And those _weren't _mono-syllables." Princess lapsed into silence as Ginger turned her attention back to Staci. "He was on the rise before, and now that he's got the Oscar under his belt, he's skyrocketing. I plan to grab on, ride him for all he's worth, then ditch him before he hits rock bottom. He's British, did you know that? He could be knighted. Then I'd have a retirement plan!"

"I thought you already had a retirement plan..."

"_Mono-syllables_, Princess! Do you even _know _what that means?" She huffed in annoyance, then looked back at Danny. "Peer, I'll only need you for when we get in. After that, make yourself _invisible_. Understand?"

Danny sighed. "Yes, Ginger."

To be continued...


	2. Oh, Shit!

Author's Note: This is the chapter where the story gets it's 'M' rating. Yes, we know, that was fast. We've gotten way more graphic in this one than in our previous two stories, so if you don't think you should be reading about fairly graphic sex, then don't read the end of this chapter! You have been warned.

* * *

REDUCED TO THIS

By Angel Sentier and Lady Parsley

Chapter Two

Ginger fumed from one side of the bar, her eyes locked on her quarry and the bitch currently compromising it. Philip and the nobody had been talking steadily for almost forty-five minutes. She had been so sure he'd have lost interest in her by now, and that would have been her cue to step in and commandeer him for the rest of the night. But now, she'd been alone for nearly an hour and it was beginning to look gauche. She had to make her move, and soon, no matter if she had to drag him away from the blond or what.

A drink was set in front of her and her gaze flashed to the man who'd done it. She was in no mood for some lame pick-up line, however, her nasty remark softened on her tongue when she got a look at the guy. He was very tall, and for someone as tall as Ginger, that was saying something. Built, wheat blond hair, striking blue eyes. Cute... in a Midwestern high school quarterback kind of way. She had no time for him at the moment, but a slightly less biting shoot down would do...

He indicated the drink. "Jack. Straight. You've got the look of a woman who can handle it, and like you might need it."

She raised one delicately arched brow and one corner of her mouth lifted slightly. This was a man who recognized a powerful woman and if she wasn't mistaken, by the cut of his clothing, his imposing body language, and direct tone of voice, she saw the same power coiled within him. In one motion, she took the shot and expertly tossed it back. Ordinarily, she might have rejected it, but he was actually right... She _did _need good, stiff drink right about then.

"Thanks," she said.

"You want to tell me what's got you so uptight, or should I take a guess?"

The assessing look he gave her almost made her laugh. She had a pretty good idea what he thought was making her 'uptight.' "It's nothing like what you're thinking, dirty boy." She tossed her hair, her eyes sliding over to where Philip and the blond were _still_ talking. "I've been humiliated in front of important people by someone I just want to kill, and now the person I came here to be with has been snatched by someone else."

"You want to kill them, too?"

The question was posed fairly lightly, but something in his tone made her suspect that he wouldn't laugh if she said yes. "The jury is still out on that one. Why?"

He produced a card and handed it to her. "Here. You might find this useful." He leaned close to her, smiling when she didn't draw back. "A beautiful woman may sometimes find herself in need of a guy like me."

"What does that mean?"

"What do you want it to mean?"

She smiled. "I'll remember that." She glanced at his nametag. "Hector."

* * *

Teri locked her car with a push of the clicker and turned resolutely toward the restaurant. It was after midnight, but the party was still kicking and the line of people to get in wrapped around the side of the building. She stood near the curb for a moment to fish her industry ticket out of her cavernous purse.

"Teri!"

She looked up to see Danny exiting the restaurant and coming toward her. She smiled. "Hey! What are you doing out here?"

"I'm escaping, what does it look like? Ginger's fit to be tied."

She rolled her eyes. "Is she still upset about the soda thing?"

"Well, yeah... but there's more." He chuckled a bit. "You missed quite a show... Why weren't you here earlier? Have you just now arrived?"

"I feel a little silly," she said, blushing slightly. "The person who came with me ditched in the middle of the movie, so I thought I'd just go home. But then, it was so early when I got there, I changed clothes and came back. Long trip just for a costume change, you know?"

He paused. "You had... a date?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you jealous?"

"No!" he denied instantly. "No, no... Of course not... I was just wondering..."

She grinned and leaned in to give him a stage whisper. "I was with Chloe. Shhh! Don't tell anyone!"

He was quite visibly relieved. "You got Chloe out? Thank God... Anything to help her recover from what that asshole did to her."

"She told me that you've been covering for her," she said.

"Oh, well, you know," he said, glancing anywhere but at Teri. "We're colleagues, and she's a friend of yours, I mean, a friend of mine, and so..." His gaze flitted to her outfit. "You look nice tonight, by the way."

She automatically straightened her blue button-down top. "Yeah? I mean, this is about as dressed up as I get, it's nothing like what everyone else is wearing..."

"No," he said, seriously. "You look really... really nice."

At that, she definitely blushed, turning red to the tips of her ears. To distract him from it, she said, "So, you were saying I missed something earlier?"

"Yes!" he said. "You might not know, but Ginger's been wanting to get her hooks into Philip Grayson ever since our office landed the promotion gig..."

She nodded. "I got wind of it." She cast devious looks about. "My spies are everywhere..."

"You heard it from Chloe."

"Yep."

He shrugged. "Well, anyway, she was all set to cast out tonight, except for this gorgeous 'mystery woman' came out of no where and single-handedly swept him out from under Ginger's nose. She didn't stay very long, but he was with her pretty much the whole time and just before she left, she kissed Mr. Grayson right in the middle of the dance floor! I mean, you should have seen that kiss, there was tongue and everything, and the camera flashes... It looked like the fourth of July."

Teri's brow furrowed slightly. "Was she some kind of crazed fan?"

He shook his head. "Nope. It was very clear that he enjoyed it."

Her eyebrows rose in concert. "Oh, reeeeeeally?"

Danny grinned. "Even though you missed everything, I'm sure you'll be able to read all about it in tomorrow's papers."

"Not the same, since I won't get to see Ginger's face, but good enough." She glanced back at the parking lot. "So, are you going home now? Where's your car?"

He sighed. "I came in Ginger's limo. All passengers are to find their own transportation back to their humble abode."

She rolled her eyes. "That's Ginger for you. Ever the considerate one. What's your plan?"

His cheeks tinged pink for a moment as he leaned in closer to her. "I was... kind of hoping a very dear and beautiful friend of mine could give me a ride."

"Beautiful?" She blinked a few times as she looked up at him. He was standing very close to her... Very close, indeed. But she didn't feel like moving away. In fact, it felt kind of... nice. "And where would this person be?"

"She's right--"

"_PEER_!"

A heart-wrenching sighed wrested itself from Danny's chest and he hung his head. Teri also recognized the enraged bellow of the Ginger-beast and felt sadly bereft as Danny stepped away from her.

"I have to go," he whispered. "I'll call you about lunch."

She nodded and sighed to herself as he walked away to answer the call of the wild. _One of these days, he and Chloe will come to their senses and work for me, _she thought. Since Danny no longer seemed to need a ride, she figured she'd go inside. _Might as well have a drink or two...

* * *

_

"What the _hell_ was _that_?"

Danny knew better than to answer her when those violet eyes were that alive with rage. Her tone might have been hushed, but the venomous hiss was far more threatening than her screeching had been before.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You were going to _kiss _her!"

"No, I wasn't!" he instantly denied, although he knew that speaking would only make it worse.

"Bullshit! You were going to kiss her in front of God and all my followers!"

"No, I swear, I wasn't!" _Yes, I was. I was leaning in, I had every intention, the moment was there, I had it right in front of me, and YOU ruined it!_ At least, that's what was running through his head, but if he ever voiced such a thing, he suspected he'd be a pile of ash on the pavement. "We're just, you know... friends, kind of... Not really, I mean, I hardly know her!" he added quickly, seeing the fury just grow exponentially.

Ginger leaned closer to him, grabbing a handful of his carefully pressed shirt. "_You_ will _pay_ for this transgression, Peer. You _know _what that means."

He swallowed. He knew only too well what that meant.

"You are not to leave my side for the remainder of the night. We will be leaving in one hour. Understand?"

Something settled, cold and forbidding, in the pit of his stomach. "Yes, Ginger."

* * *

When the door to Ginger's lavish home closed behind Danny, the turning of the lock sounded particularly ominous that night. He'd seen all of her opulent decorations and furnishings so many times, they were just a blur on the backdrop. His mind was fully consumed by what was to come. He could never be quite sure what mood she would be in, but he had a pretty good idea that there would be no tender, considerate lovemaking tonight. He wasn't even sure if those words existed in Ginger's vernacular...

"Undress," she commanded as soon as the lock had been thrown. She went to the kitchen, fully expecting her order to be followed.

"Um..."

"NOW."

He didn't have much of a choice. She _did _pay him to do her bidding. And she was already angry. Defiance would not be a good idea. By the time he'd gotten all of his clothes off, she'd returned with a glass of dark cherry-colored liquid.

"Drink it," she said, handing it to him. She watched as he drank it all.

The wine had a strange taste, the way it always did when she brought him to her place. He never said no; he _needed _a drink to want to sleep with Ginger... Lately though, he'd been feeling a strong sense of guilt each time it happened. Probably because he didn't _want _to sleep with her; he wanted Teri.

"Can I... use the restroom?"

Her eyes narrowed, as though this was an extreme inconvenience, but she gestured down the hall.

Quickly, he locked himself into the small guest bathroom. He couldn't understand it, but every time he was with Ginger, he ended up wanting her like no other; the mad desire welled up inside until he was little more than a ravenous beast with only one thought consuming him, and he'd do anything, _anything_, to relieve it.

_Not this time_, he thought. _I don't want Ginger. I don't even like Ginger! I mean, sure, she's pretty, but she's a supreme bitch and that usually cancels it out! I'll sit in here and keep myself from her, and then I can't betray Teri. _He knew that it was rather silly to want to be faithful to a woman who didn't even know about his feelings, but he couldn't help it. Desire was a bitch, but guilt was a horrible thing to endure.

But while his heart was completely loyal to Teri, his dick had no sense of loyalty. The treacherous organ began leaping to life as images of Ginger began suddenly flitting inexorably through his head.

_No! Why am I thinking about her? Why do I feel like I need to see her so badly?_ He grit his teeth as the need started to become a painful thing for him. A brief idea of taking care of the problem himself entered his thoughts, but the next moment, he was absolutely certain that nothing could satisfy him except for Ginger. He had to have her wrapped around him or death was imminent.

He found himself rising from the toilet and opening the door to the bathroom. She was standing in the hallway, waiting for him, wearing only a black lace underwear set with matching garters and her tall high heeled shoes. She glanced down at the state he was in and smiled knowingly.

"On your knees, puppy," she said.

_Yes, _he thought. _Anything to please Ginger._ He obediently crawled after her as she led the way upstairs.

He endured about forty-five minutes of the usual torture; sixty clothespins on various parts of his body, which she then whipped them off, using her favorite lash, giving him one for each minute that the mystery woman had spent with Philip and she made him count them. She had him please her with his mouth without using his hands; he was never allowed to touch her, at least not without her express permission. She followed all of that with digging those high heels into his back.

"Do you like that?" she asked, standing on top of him.

"Yes," he grunted, his face to the cold hardwood floor.

"Yes, _what_?" she prompted, emphasizing the question with another dig of her heel.

"Yes, Ginger," he said. For some reason, she always wanted him to use her name. "May I have some more?" The sooner she tired of this part, the sooner he could find relief within her body.

"Tell me who you want first."

"Ginger."

She jumped slightly with both feet. "Louder!"

"Ginger!" he said, as loud as he could manage it while his lungs were being pressed so hard.

She petted the back of his head with one foot, balancing the rest of her weight on the other. "Very good." She climbed off of him. "On the bed."

He got up as quickly as he could with the blindfold on and found his way by memory to the bed. She pushed him at the last moment so he stumbled, and he groaned loudly as his throbbing erection met with the side of the bed.

She chuckled deep in her throat. "Be more careful, puppy."

He lay on his back, the only position she allowed him, and she climbed up after him, straddling his chest and pushing her breasts in his face as she secured his wrists in the manacles at the head of the bed. Even when she fucked him, she never allowed him to touch her. That was a privilege, she often said, and he had to earn it. As always, by the time she'd tired of the 'fun,' as she termed it, and settled herself onto him, the sensation felt divine. For one moment, it felt like the completion of something. And as always, _that_ was when the guilt came crashing down around him, but he was too far gone to try and stop what was happening.

"Who do you want?" she cried.

"Ginger," he answered her, and the name was bitter in his mouth.

_Go to your happy place,_ he told himself. _It'll be over soon. Think about what you'd rather be doing._

Behind the blackness of the blindfold, Ginger's face became Teri's, and suddenly it was Teri whom he was with. All the scary, violent sex disappeared and he was making love to Teri. In his mind, Teri set him free from the bonds restraining him and soothed his sore flesh with soft lips and gentle touches. _Ah... Teri..._

"Who do you want?" Ginger demanded. "Tell me who you want!"

"...Teri..."

All movement stopped. Danny's heart skipped a beat. _Did I...? No, no, I couldn't have..._

"...Teri?"

_Oh, shit._

"You mean... _Snowden_?" Her nether muscles clamped down on his organ, as if in emphasis of her mounting fury, and where he might have expected a slightly uncomfortable momentary squeeze, he received a painful, vice-like clasp around the tender appendage.

_Holy fucking shit!_

"You have Ginger Carlyle in front of you, and you want _SNOWDEN?_"

For one moment, he was glad of the blindfold that was keeping him from seeing what was no doubt the awesome wrath of Ginger, but that small comfort was soon gone as she tore it from his face. The panic snaps followed and she jerked herself off of him, leaving him woefully unsatisfied and it clearly showed. With an expression of raw anger that told him this would be a night he wouldn't soon forget, she pointed one imperious finger toward the bedroom door.

"Basement. NOW."

After a split second hesitation which he knew would cost him in a few moments, he rose from the bed and crawled out of the room.

* * *

Chloe looked up as he entered the office the next morning. She blinked, surprise clearly written on her face. "Danny?" she queried. "Are you okay? Rough night?"

He ducked his head so she couldn't see the shame written in his expression. "I... don't want to talk about it..."

To be continued...


	3. Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Author's Note: This is really more of an 'apology note,' actually... We're both really sorry that we haven't updated in so long. Unfortunately, we can't dedicate our lives to our writing, much as we would like to, and real life has a way of encroaching forcefully on you if you ignore it for too long. One of us was two days away from being homeless, three times in a row, in the past two months, and both of us are having financial issues. So, for those of you who have been waiting somewhat patiently for this chapter, thank you for continuing to read our series and please continue to be patient as it may take longer for updates while we are getting our lives in order... Thank you.

--Angel and Parsley--

* * *

REDUCED TO THIS

By Angel Sentier and Lady Parsley

Chapter Three

Teri overslept that morning. Of course, it was such a common occurrence that it didn't phase her much. But she was most disappointed by the fact that her rude alarm clock had awoken her from her favorite, and thankfully, recurring dream. In it, she could see a gloriously naked Danny Peer, passionately calling out her name as he was strapped, helplessly, to a large bed. She would slowly walk to him, unbind the oppressive shackles, and kiss every raw, red mark. Then, she would rescue him from whomever it was that had imprisoned him this way. But that damned alarm always woke her up just as it was getting really good.

She sleepily shuffled towards her spacious bathroom to take care of 'morning business,' as she called it. Noticing the red light of her answering machine blinking on her way down the hall, she punched the button and wandered into the restroom.

"Shit!" came a hushed voice. "Teri, it's Tessa. I've got to talk to you. I'll try Chloe. She'll wake up. Bye." The robotic machine voice told Teri that Tessa had called at 3:24am. _I wasn't even home!_ she thought. The movie had been terrible, but the after party was indeed not to be missed.

"Oh, jeez! Wake up, Teri," Chloe's voice chided from the recording. "Things at the office are nuts! Ginger is fuming! I'm not sure what you did, but she's absolutely pissed and Danny, the boy-toy, looks like he was beat with a bat... the kind with wings and teeth. Plus, Tessa called at some ungodly hour this morning and wanted to talk about some problem she has. It's about a guy; big shocker there. I told her we'd meet at the Canard for lunch. Somehow, she's gotten a work release for a whole week! I didn't ask for details because it was 3:30 in the fucking morning... To re-cap: Get up and get to work; Ginger's a raging she-beast today; Danny's been hit with a small flying mammal; and we're having lunch with Tessa. Got all that? Bye."

Teri sighed. Chloe never did know what to say on an answering machine and so always tended to ramble on. Generally, she only realized when it was too late to do anything about it. Teri was used to it, but it drove Tessa nuts. She could just hear the other woman saying to the blond, "Minutes aren't free, Chloe! _You _are the reason I got rid of my cell phone!" and she smiled.

Since she hadn't washed her hair the night before, Teri hopped in the shower. Cold water, to make certain she woke up, otherwise she'd stay in the shower for a full fifteen minutes, sleeping standing up like a parrot. She washed her hair with Alterna shampoo, the one really nice luxury she allowed herself, being that she considered her long curly hair to be her best feature. Five minutes under the spray and she wrapped herself in a big fluffy purple towel, then untangled the mass by running her fingers through it. Teri never blow-dried her hair; when she attempted, it took over the world.

She picked out a pair of pants and a tunic top, slipped on her shoes, and was ready to head out the door when the phone rang. For a moment, she toyed with the idea of just letting it ring. _It's probably Chloe telling me how late I am. I _know _how late I am. So I'll answer it to tell her how much later her phone call is making me. _She giggled with glee as she picked it up.

"You're only making me laaaaaater!" trilled Teri with a big grin.

"I'm... sorry?" came an unexpected male voice.

She blinked. "Who is this?"

"Danny Peer? Lunch? Remember?"

"OHHHH!" It all came rushing back to her still-tired brain.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"Well... Being that you called my home number, I'm at _home_, Danny."

"Right, right," he said, sounding embarrassed. "I really meant to ask why you're not at work. I called your office and got an automatic mail box, same thing with your cell phone, and finally I tried this number. So..."

"Right, good thinking. Have you recovered from the bat incident?"

"I... don't think I follow."

"...Nevermind. Lunch, today, yes!" Reality punched the back of her head. "NO! God!" She groaned. "I can't... I'm supposed to meet Tessa and Chloe for lunch. You _could _come with us... but we're just going to listen to Tessa bitch about some guy she met at a bar. I don't really think that would interest you."

"Hmm... Tempting... but no."

"I _might_ be able to blow it off, but..." She thought about the consequences of leaving Chloe alone with a bitching Tessa. "I probably shouldn't."

"No worries, maybe we could postpone our lunch until later today."

"Two lunches? Well, I'm hungry, but..."

"No, I mean, maybe say... seven tonight?"

"That doesn't sound like lunch. That sounds like dinner."

"Well, I guess that _might _be considered somewhat dinner-esque..."

She paused. "Danny, are you asking me out on a date?" Pause. "Again?"

"...Uh... Is that all right?"

"YES!" She silently counted to three to try and calm herself down. "Just as long as it's not a repeat of our last date."

"Oh, no, no! No work, I promise."

"Good. Then why don't you just meet me at my office as soon as you're let out of the cage, and we'll drive down to wherever we're going. Sound good?"

"Sure!" There was a pause, like he might be thinking of something else to say. "I can't wait."

"You're going to have to. Because five o'clock isn't here yet."

"If you don't get to work soon, it'll be five o'clock before you get here."

"Ha, ha. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Teri!"

She carefully replaced the receiver, gazed at it for a moment, then let loose with the Happy Dance of Joy, right in the middle of the hallway, as she squealed with delight. She slung her purse over her shoulder and actually skipped down the driveway to her car.

"Tee hee hee! I've got a date with a hoooooottie!" she sang.

* * *

"I think... even cuter," said Chloe with a somewhat far-away look on her face.

Teri raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh, reeeeeeally?" She shook her head and speared another French fry. "I got to meet him, you know."

"So did I. He came to Ginger's office, remember?"

"Yeah, but I got to _talk_ to him. Shake his hand, even."

"Oh. Go you."

She narrowed her eyes at the other woman. "Go me? _That's_ your reaction? Come on, this is my revenge on you for ditching me! You're supposed to be jealous!"

"Sorry, sorry," said Chloe. "How about I take you out to dinner as my penance?"

Teri grinned. "Okay, then _here's_ my revenge. I can't. I have a date!"

"Really? That's great!" said Chloe, smiling, apparently glad for her friend even if she was somewhat jaded about the male race at the moment. "With whom?"

She froze. _Shit. Now I have to tell her. _She shoved a bite of her hamburger in her mouth. "Dahmehl Ear," she mumbled as quickly as possible, hoping Chloe would just leave it at that.

No such luck. "What?"

"Dahmial Per."

"_What?_"

Teri swallowed hard. There would be no escaping this. "DANIEL PEER," she said, loudly.

Chloe's eyes bugged. "The TOY? Wind him up and insert him? You do realize he has no balls whatsoever, right?"

"No, no," Teri said. "He _has _balls, they're just kept in a mason jar on Ginger's desk. So, he's not ball-less... he's just testically challenged."

Chloe threw back her head and laughed. "Okay, I thought Tessa dating our waiter was funny, but you dating Ginger's Toy tops that by at least three notches!"

"Shut up! Danny's hot and funny and sweet and hot--"

"You already said hot."

"It bears repeating!"

"Okay, okay, I know. He used to be a model. I work with the guy, remember?"

Teri gobbled another fry. "Lucky bitch."

"But I thought you'd already attempted to date Danny before and it was a total failure."

"I'm not counting that as a date anymore. That was work. All we did was hang around the office and pass each other print outs and staplers. You know what we talked about? Staples and paper cuts. And how much of a bitch Ginger is. We talked more about Ginger than we did each other."

"And you want to try this again, why?"

"Have you _seen_ the pants, Chloe?"

Chloe sighed. "_Yes_, I've seen the pants. To reiterate: I work with him!"

"You can't tell me you've never wondered what's inside those pants."

"A hot ass and a very big dick, I'm aware!"

"Then how can you ask me stupid questions like that? He has a brain, I spent four hours with him finding that out. I want to know about his naked, throbbing body! I keep having this fantasy about eating a hot fudge sundae off of his rock-hard abs and damn it, it's going to happen somewhere in this lifetime!"

She made a face. "Ew! Sticky and cold and a total waste of ice cream!"

"Oh, that's right, I forgot. Ben and Jerry are your therapists."

"That is a _low _blow, Teri."

"No, it's not. You're finally regaining your butt; that's something to be happy about! All Jason wanted was an assless clothes hanger. You know what it made you? Very disturbing to look at in jeans." She shook her head. "Absolutely no ass, whatsoever! Your legs went right into your waist!"

"Okay, I get it! Sheesh!" Chloe rolled her eyes. "Damn... You _need _this date."

"Well, I _had _a date last night, Mr. Hughes, but _someone _ditched me!"

"You're never going to let me live this down, are you?"

"Nope."

Chloe glanced at the nearby window. "Not to change the subject from you brow-beating me or anything..."

"Suuuuuuuure..."

"...But Jeff's been out there for quite a while. Should we go check on them?"

"Why? You _want_ to see them screwing in the back of Tessa's car?"

"Ew!"

Teri grinned, then leaned over to look out the window. "Okay, I checked. They're fine. He's hugging her or something. Perhaps he's biting her neck. She'll be one of the undead soon."

"That's impossible, it's daytime."

"Geek."

The theme from _Titanic_ cut off whatever Chloe would have said in response. She sighed. "You know what that means."

Teri shuddered. "Yeah... Somewhere, an angel just ripped its wings off... and turned into Christopher Walken."

She rolled her eyes and picked up her purse. "If only that was all it meant. Call me when you get home. I want details!"

"Graphic ones?"

"Ew..." She paused. "Well... Yeah. Graphic ones. Get a measuring tape, if you have to."

"Will do. Oh, and I don't think I need to say this, but don't say anything in Ginger's earshot about who he's going out with tonight. No need to make the woman mistreat you both anymore than she usually does."

"Right," she said. "Big Ginger is watching you, I know."

She waved as Chloe took off for the parking lot. "See you later!"

* * *

Danny hesitated in front of Ginger's office door. He glanced at his watch which read 5:10pm. He sighed and knocked lightly.

"Come in, Peer."

He never knew how she could always tell it was him, but he never questioned it either. Questioning Ginger meant death, usually. He twisted the doorknob and entered the room, closing the door behind him.

Ginger was seated behind her desk, reading a few form papers from a manila packet. "I'm not going to be needing you for quite some time," she said without even looking up. Danny knew she wasn't talking about work. "Now, why are you bothering me?"

"It's after five," he said.

"I have a clock, Peer."

"I've made... dinner arrangements--"

"I'm not interested," she said, cutting him off.

_Well, good, you're not invited,_ he thought, but of course he couldn't say it out loud. "I... I wouldn't think so. But I... I'd like to go now."

"What you want is irrelevant, Peer. We've already been over this."

"Right, but--"

"But what? You are mine. I pay you well enough to hand over your body and soul with no arguments."

"Until after five."

"No," she said, finally looking up and freezing him with her stare. "You are mine whenever I say you are. Understand?"

"Yes, Ginger." The hated response just popped out of his mouth. "But..."

She raised an eyebrow. "But?"

"I'm hungry. And... I'm not _legally _obligated to be here after five."

Ginger sighed, as though this was an enormous waste of time. "I don't have the time or the desire to deal with your petty arguments right now. So, I'll let you go. _After_ you ask permission," she added when he turned to leave.

He turned back around and sighed. When he opened his mouth, she cut him off once again.

"No," she said. "Not ask. _Beg_... puppy."

The name turned his stomach painfully, but he knew exactly what she expected of him. He dropped down on all fours, very glad that the blinds of her office windows were drawn, and crawled over to the desk. Leaning down, he planted a wet, open-mouthed kiss to her designer pumps.

Her low giggle raised the hairs along his arms, and he looked up at her. "Please, Ginger," he said. "I beg you. Please, let me go."

She lifted the foot he had so carefully kissed and ran it along the inside of his left thigh, effectively cleaning it off. She continued to run it along his body and when the foot had reached his chest, she pushed hard, landing him on his backside.

"You disgust me," she said, wrinkling her nose disdainfully at him. "Look at yourself. You used to be something. Now, you've been reduced to this... You're nothing. You can't even piss without my permission. And you're always going to _be _nothing. Because I _own_ you, Peer, and I'm never going to let you forget it!" She turned her attention back to the papers on her desk as though the pride she'd just demolished and the man it belonged to were of no consequence. "Now, get out of my sight before I change my mind."

He knew she'd do it, too, so he scrambled to his feet and made for the door. Before he opened it, he turned back halfway and quietly muttered what he knew she wanted to hear. "Thank you, Ginger."

* * *

When he walked into her office, the look on Danny's face could only be described as defeated. Teri immediately set aside the paperwork she'd been going over and stood up from her desk.

"What happened?" she asked. "You've got the look of a child who's just been told that the prize pet pig he had raised from infancy was being served to him as bacon!"

He could only shake his head, averting his eyes. "It's... nothing," he said finally, though that statement only seemed to crumple his expression even more. "It's just... you know... Ginger." He seemed unable to say anything more about it.

"Ah," said Teri. "I understand."

As they walked out to the parking lot together and his mood didn't seem to be improving, however, she couldn't help herself. She reached out her hand and grasped the closest one of his.

"Don't worry," she said as she gave his hand a light squeeze. "Soon, you'll come to your senses and work for me or some other lucky PR rep, or you'll get promoted. Then, a house will fall on Ginger, and the world will be a better place."

A low smile spread across his face and he glanced quickly at Teri. "Who'll get the ruby slippers?"

"Ehh..." She shrugged. "I'm not much for shoes. That's more Chloe's thing. I'm more of the..." She paused, thinking. "I'm not sure. But I'm not shoes."

Danny opened his mouth, as if he was going to comment, but at that moment their elevator came to a slow stop in the parking garage level and the doors slid open.

"Who drives?" she asked. "Or should we meet there?"

He hesitated. "I... really don't know where we should go, so would you like to drive? That way, you can pick the place."

"But you're the one who's paying," she pointed out.

"I know..." he said. "I'm treating you, so you get to choose where you want to eat."

She shrugged again and opened the passenger side door of her green Saturn. "You might regret saying that after you see what I order, but all right."

"Ginger pays me so well, I'm not worried." The mention of his boss seemed to vaporize any good mood he might have been building up and his small smile fell from his face.

He slid into the passenger seat and hit the automatic unlock button. Teri was almost disappointed that she didn't get to see his magnificent arms stretch out over the driver's side to unlock her door manually_Damn modern technology!_ She seated herself behind the wheel, buckled the seat belt, and in doing so caught sight of Danny's crestfallen expression.

She sighed. "Okay, if you're going to continue to be depressed, I'm going to slip Thorazine into your food."

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Be nervous, or happy, or chatty, or whatever. But not depressed or sorry. I'm not! Hell, I'm the luckiest woman on the planet!"

"Why?"

"Why!" She rolled her eyes in defiance against his modesty. "I'm on a date with Daniel Peer! The hottest ex-male-model currently working in advertising and public relations! What's _not_ to be hyped about?" She smiled as she turned the key in the ignition. "And that's not even the best part."

Danny blushed to the tips of his ears at her accolade. "What's the best part?"

Teri slid her sunglasses off the top of her head and settled them down on the end of her nose, staring at him over the top. "The best part is, _you _asked _me _first." She threw the car into reverse and pulled out of the overly cramped office parking. "What you need is self esteem. And carbs. Lots of carbs." In Teri's mind, those two things together meant only one thing. Italian.

To be continued...


	4. Thinking of You Naked in 5, 4, 3,,,

REDUCED TO THIS

By Angel Sentier and Lady Parsley

Chapter Four

Danny looked around at the restaurant as Teri put their names in at the pedestal. When she had told him they would be eating Italian that night, he hadn't expected... this. She'd driven up to Mick's Pizza D'Oro; a tiny parlor that looked like it might have been built in the 50s and was still under the same management. The walls inside were fake brick on corkboard, wooden latticework separated the booths at the center of the room, the tables were covered in red and white checked cloths, and decorating the place were fake poinsettias, framed pictures of carrots and garlic, and other works featuring Italy or food done in oil paint.

"Okay," said Teri, returning to the bench on which Danny had taken up residence. "It's going to be about forty-five minutes."

"What?" Danny asked, his eyes widening. "For this place?"

She rolled her eyes. "Snob. Look at all these people," she said, gesturing to the packed interior. "Do you think they come here for the ambiance? They come here for the food. Trust me, once you taste the buffet, you'll understand. Now, scoot over."

He took a hastily stifled intake of breath as Teri's thigh was very suddenly pressed against his own when she sat on the bench next to him.

"Working for Premiere, I've come into the acquaintance of many a restaurant," she said, once settled. "I've gone to restaurants where you have to place a reservation three months in advance of the actual date you want to eat on, you have to come by an hour early and you still have to wait three hours for a table, then you spend five thousand dollars on a meal that was probably prepared by third world children who get paid fifty cents per night, and you wonder why you took all that effort to go there anyway."

He laughed. "Ginger _likes_ to go to those kinds of places. The pain of third world children is amusing to her, I guess."

"Speaking of the she-beast," said Teri, with a grin. "Why are you not with _her _tonight, boy-toy?"

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "She doesn't require me to be with her _every _night."

"Require?"

He nodded. "It's the word she uses."

"Wow," she said. "You must be _good._" She shook her head, rubbing her forehead with one hand. "All right, my focus is rapidly dwindling. We've got five minutes before all I'm going to be thinking about is Daniel Peer naked. So, hurry... Tell me about your childhood and... stuff."

He blinked. "Right, uh, okay... I'm the youngest of five, all sisters. Our mother divorced our father soon after I was born. I only saw him occasionally growing up and I don't fault her for the decision. They weren't suited to each other and that man was just not meant to be married. We were all raised by her and her... friend."

Teri tilted her head. "Friend?" she asked, making air quotations.

"Right. Her girl friend."

"Oh, reeeeeeally? Wow."

"Yeah," he said. "Every single one of them: powerful, domineering feminists."

"No wonder you work for Ginger so well."

"I was discovered for modeling while I was in my senior year of high school," he said, quickly changing the subject. "The modeling gigs paid for my college."

"So you didn't _want _to be a model?" she asked.

"No, I wanted to be in business."

"Which is what you went to college for."

"Right."

"So, how'd you end up working for Premiere?"

He shrugged. "They were the ones who accepted my resume? I suspected at first that I got hired because I was 'pretty.'"

She nodded. "Junior execs have been hired for less. How'd you end up working for Ginger, then? And what do you mean 'was?'"

He sighed. "This is mostly speculation on my part, but I'm guessing that Ginger saw how useful I could be to her, she orchestrated my demotion, and one condom wrapper in her office trashcan later, there I was, her assistant. No one would offer to promote me ever again, they're all too afraid of her, so I'm stuck there until the day I die." He hoped she wouldn't notice that he neglected to answer her second question.

"You make it sound like she owns your soul."

"I never did read the contract fully," he said with a little smile.

"What exactly do you _do_ for Ginger? I know you proof-read and all that, but what do you really _do_?"

"Whatever she says," he answered in a flat tone. "Mostly... I'm her informant. She wants to find something out, I go pal around with the execs, play golf with them, laugh hysterically at their very, very bad jokes, and they let slip a few secrets, which I am then to report directly to Ginger. I'm kind of like her... magic mirror."

"How appropriate. And the rest of the time?"

"I guess I'm... kind of like a pet."

"Wow," she said, blinking in surprise. "Harsh. What's the attraction? I mean, there has to be some attraction for you, you're out with _me,_ after all."

He glanced at her. "Um... No. There isn't any."

"Then why would you sleep with her?"

"It's not like I'm given much of a choice," he muttered, then clapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes widening. "I mean, um..."

"Teri, party of two," called the hostess.

Danny gratefully stood up from the bench and waited for Teri to follow the hostess into the dining area before walking after her.

* * *

As Teri sat down, she realized something was beginning to bug her about the way Danny behaved... but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. She reached for her water glass and took a long sip as she pondered what it could be, noting that Danny did the same. She set the glass down and narrowed her eyes at him slightly, trying to figure him out. He also replaced his glass and smiled at her.

"Okay, how much _does _she pay you?" she asked.

"Enough to do her bidding with no arguments," he said in the same flat tone.

"Wow... I don't have that much in my bucket." She thought about it for a minute. "I could pay you out of pocket. I could live off of ramen and tap water, I did it in college, and I could do it again!" He laughed and shook his head in response, probably knowing as well as she did that it wouldn't work. She shrugged. "Well, it was a thought."

She reached for her water glass and again, noticed that he did so as well; picking up his own glass and drinking as she did. She set it back down, he set it back down. _Okay, this is weird, _she thought. Furrowing her brow just slightly, she picked up her glass and raised it to her lips... then set it back down again quickly without drinking from it. It would have been funny to watch as Danny did the same, if it wasn't bugging her so much as to why he was doing it!

"Are you copying me?" she asked.

"What? Um... No? I mean... I'm sorry?" he stammered.

She was about to say something more, when their waiter came up to the table to take their order. Teri hadn't even looked at the menu, but she came here often enough to know what she wanted.

"I'll have the chicken parmegiana," she said.

"That sounds good," said Danny. "I'll have the same."

Teri narrowed her eyes a bit. "Actually," she said before the waiter could leave. "I'd like to change that to the dinner buffet."

"No problem," said the waiter.

"Oh, that sounds even better," said Danny. "Please change my order to that, as well."

Once the waiter had left, Teri planted her hands on her hips. "You _are _copying me! Mom! Danny's copying me!" she said, in a high, young voice.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said, looking a bit red. "I've just never been here before and I figured you would know what was best to eat; I didn't mean to offend you..."

"Offend me?" she repeated. "Danny, I'm not _offended_! Just a little... weirded out."

"Oh... I'm sorry," he said.

"Stop apologizing," she said. "And if you say 'I'm sorry' for being sorry, I'm going to smack you! God, what does Ginger _do_ to you?"

He bit down on his lips. Suddenly, it hit her... The attitude, the 'copying,' the waiting for her to do everything first, and the way he did _whatever _Ginger said... She sat back in her seat, regarding him with a serene air and a little smile on her face. "Oh, I get it..." she said. "You're a _submissive_!"

"Oh, God," Danny muttered, putting his head in one hand.

"No, no, no, no!" she said. "It's cool!"

He looked up at her, shocked. "It's... cool?"

"Yeah!" she said, excitedly. "It's--" _Hot._ But she stopped herself in time, looking down at the tabletop as she blushed bright red. "It's... you know."

"No," he said, looking seriously confused. "I don't."

"You _know_," she said. "It's... exciting, and... different, and..."

His eyes bugged slightly. "You think it's _sexy_?"

"Yes. I think it's sexy," she declared. "Yeah, I said it. What?"

"Nothing," he said, still looking stunned. "It's just... That's not what I expected to hear. At least, not from you."

"Great, Danny," Teri said, trying to struggle through her growing arousal and diminishing witty comebacks. "_Less_ than five minutes pass and now all I can think of is you, naked, strapped to a table. All my conversation for the evening is now shot to hell. Again, thanks."

"I'm sorr-- Quick, tell me about _your_ childhood," said Danny.

"Fine, it was fine."

"You really can't think of anything else?" He shifted in his seat as if his pants were too tight all of a sudden.

"Multi-tasking under these conditions is a bitch." She sighed and shook her head, forcing some semblance of focus back into her brain. She rose from the table to head to the buffet, hoping the movement would turn her thoughts to something more mundane. "Okay, I am the oldest of six kids; I have two brothers and three sisters. Our upbringing was... not normal."

"How so?" he asked, getting up to follow her.

"I grew up in a cult." Danny laughed, however Teri remained very serious as she began heaping pasta on a warm plate. "No. Really. I was raised in a cult. An-honest-to-God, white robed, holy hosanna, praise-Jesus-and-pass-the-Kool-aid cult. My mother and father had gotten into it on the ground floor when it was just a bunch of people studying the bible in some guy's basement. Before they knew it, they were wrapped up in this whole twisted way of life thing."

"How was it?"

Plates full, they headed back to the table and sat down. "Great... If you were a _man_," she said, beginning to talk between bites. "See, they taught that women were put on this earth for the purpose of service to men and breeding. They had us scared shitless about what a woman should be like so she could be pleasing to her husband. I was absolutely certain that the instant my stylist cut my hair for the first time, lightning would strike me dead. When I was nine, I had nightmares about Jesus coming back, pissed off beyond all belief, burning and killing everything and everyone who had ever made him angry in any way." She shuddered and was still for a very long moment. She wasn't sure when Danny took her hand, but she squeezed it lightly as soon as she realized. "Sorry... Kind of went off there."

"No, it's okay," he said, a look of concern on his face. He showed no intention of taking his hand back anytime soon. "How long were you trapped in that?"

"I got out when I was in high school. Just after they blamed the car accident that killed my dad on the fact that my mother had stopped coming to services."

"Bastards."

"Yeah," she agreed, nodding. "But even after I'd gotten out, you can probably imagine the hell of a time I had trying to pry my brain out of the ditch they'd put it in. After sixteen years of believing that all a woman was good for is popping out kids, I was a twenty-five year old virgin and couldn't stop thinking I was worthless."

The horrified look on Danny's face was remarkably comforting. "How could you possibly think that?"

"Imagine someone telling you that you've been wearing color contacts your whole life without realizing it and the sky is really fuchsia. Yeah, it's kind of like that."

"Well, what did you do? Or are you still--?"

"NO!" said Teri. "God, no!" She smiled, remembering. "Tessa helped me. I was talking to her on the phone one day and she said, 'Your mission this weekend, Teri, is to go out and get laid. You can do it! Take one for the team! And I want you to call me the _second_ you get done!'"

"And?"

"I went out; I got laid."

"And did you call her right after?"

"Hell, no! I waited until the next morning."

"And what did she say?"

"She yelled at me for not calling her the second we were done."

Danny threw back his head and laughed. It was the first time she'd heard him laugh like that... The sound kind of left an aching feeling below her stomach, but a pleasant one. _How can an ache be pleasant? _she wondered.

"And how did that make you feel? Not the yelling, I mean... The getting laid."

"Empowered."

Danny took a sharp intake of breath and his eyes closed for a moment. The hand on hers tightened just slightly and she tilted her head at him curiously.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said. "I'm just... happy for you. That's all."

"Happy?" she repeated, confused.

"Yeah," he said, again shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "You know... _happy. _For you."

"Hap-- OHHHH!" she exclaimed, suddenly realizing what he meant. She blushed. "Happy... For _me_... Niiiiiiiiiiice." She sat up in the booth and smiled at him. "I want to try something."

"Try something?"

"Yeah. Do you mind?"

He shook his head. "No... What are you going to do?"

Rather than answer, Teri slipped her foot out of her shoe and ran it gently along the inside of his leg. Danny sucked in a sharp breath and started almost violently out of his seat.

"No, no, no," said Teri, playfully. "Don't move." She snickered as he went completely motionless. "You _can _eat your food... Just don't let on what's happening."

"Oh," he said. "Right. Got it." He picked up his fork and looked at her before digging in again. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"No," she said, still running her toes up and down his thigh. "I'm full."

"Oh." He set his utensil back down and put his hands in his lap.

"Aren't you hungry?"

"Uh... Yeah."

"Then why aren't you eating?"

"Because you're not?"

She rolled her eyes. "Danny, if you are hungry, then for Christ's sake, _eat_!" And Teri watched as Danny finished off not only his plate, but the rest of hers. She shook her head at him. "I hate you."

He blinked. "What?"

"HOW can you eat that much and stay so thin and muscular?"

His eyes went wide. "Huh? You have got to be kidding. I have moobs."

"Moobs?"

"Man-boobs. I'm not nearly as cut as I used to be."

"Shut up before I smack you." She giggled as he once again took a sharp inhale. "Well... Do you want dessert?" She reached for the dessert menu at the head of the table, but stopped as his hand came down on top of hers. She looked at him, askance.

He shook his head. "Not here."

"Okay, there's an ice cream par--" She halted, stared at him, then laughed. "Is that really the only thing you can think about?"

He reddened slightly. "You're not the only one with a five minute problem."

She grinned at him. "Let's stop by the store first," she said.

"All right. What for?"

"I want a hot fudge sundae."

To be continued...


	5. Hold That Sundae!

REDUCED TO THIS

By Angel Sentier and Lady Parsley

Chapter Five

Teri might have wished that she'd had the forethought to take the stuffed animals and classic board games off the shelf in her bedroom and hide them. She also might have wished that she had bought a new sofa, cleaned the grout in the bathroom, fixed the blinds to the sliding glass doors, and lots of other things of that nature. She probably would have wished for those things..._ if_ Daniel Peer had not surpassed her every fantasy and was quickly proving himself to be the world's greatest and most passionate kisser. At the moment, all those other things had faded into the 'not that important' file, and her mind was fully engrossed in locking this moment away for all eternity, to be enjoyed over and over again when it was done.

"You _could_ leave now," she told him as they stood at the doorway of her apartment when they finally pulled apart and she tried to catch her elusive breath. "You could shake my hand, tell me what a great time you had, and run off into the night. But I warn you, if you kiss me again... if you so much as peck me on the cheek... you will _definitely_ be calling in sick for work tomorrow morning."

"Call in? To Ginger?" Danny's eyes narrowed and one eyebrow rose. "You have no idea of the wrath that would follow."

There was a pause that lingered in the air as his gaze roved over her face. Both of them were only standing about a hair's breadth apart, and she could feel the heat from his skin radiating onto her. Teri thought for sure he was going to turn around and walk at that second.

She was never so glad to be so wrong about something in her entire life.

The kiss that Danny planted on her lips was soft without being tentative or hesitant. He silently begged her lips to part and let him have a small taste of her. When she yielded, his kiss went from begging to hungry without delay. His hands that a moment ago had cradled her face were clutching at her hair, pulling at her shirt, desperately seeking any expanse of bare skin. He moaned against her mouth when her shirt yielded under his fingers and he swept his hand across the small of her back.

Teri pulled him inside the apartment, slammed the door behind them, and dropped all excess things, purse, jacket, bag of ice cream, on the floor. Both of them fell on the couch.

"Ow!" said Danny, breaking off their kiss. "This is the _most_ uncomfortable couch I've ever sat on!"

"You can thank Tessa and her boy-toy at the time for that," she said. "It wasn't even that comfortable to begin with, but I really got it for the table and chairs that came in the set. Believe it or not, this one was actually the most comfortable of the couches they were offering." She blinked, the mundane talk beginning to break through her haze of lust. "Do you _really _want to talk about my couch right now?"

"No," he said, leaning in to kiss her again with wonderful mastery, his strong, capable hands doing maddening things to her body.

That was all Teri could take. He was getting naked, and he was getting naked that instant, if she had any say in it! Her hands slid down from around his neck to the front of his shirt where she blindly began unbuttoning it. She got about to the third one down when Danny pulled away from her. Immediately, her body cried out in denial.

"Maybe... Maybe we shouldn't do this," said Danny, stuttering slightly through labored breathing. He looked down at the cushion of the couch, beginning to wring his hands. "I _do_ have to get up for work in the morning and I can't call in sick to Ginger, she'll be pissed..."

The words had an effect similar to that of a cold shower. Teri dragged a hand through her long hair. _I should have figured that he'd want to leave if things got too heavy... He's with me, after all, not the Barbie goddess..._ She took a deep breath, trying to force her voice to a somewhat normal tone. "Well... okay. I mean, I can't say I'm not disappointed, but if that's really what you want, then... Danny, will you stop fidgeting for a second?" she said, grabbing his wrists.

When she did so, he sucked in a breath, wincing.

_That was pain,_ she thought, confused. "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry--" She stopped, eyes narrowing slightly. "That... _shouldn't _have hurt you." She opened her hands to have a look at his wrists, but he took the opportunity to pull them away from her and put them behind his back. "Hey!"

"It's nothing," he said, quickly. "It's just... you know, it's... I should go..."

"Danny," said Teri, stopping him when he would have gotten up off the couch. "Show me your hands."

He wouldn't look up at her, but slowly, he brought his hands to the front and extended them to her. She unbuttoned the cuffs and pushed back the sleeves, inhaling sharply when she saw deep red marks that marred his wrists. On a closer look, she could tell that they had been put there recently.

"Oh, my God," she said, softly. "What does Ginger _do _with you?"

He didn't answer and still refused to look at her. Teri once again began undoing the buttons of his shirt and this time he made no move to stop her. The blue button-up that perfectly brought out the blue in his hazel eyes came off, leaving him in his undershirt. Her eyes roved over the red marks on his arms before she started tugging the undershirt up and over his head. She stifled the gasp that came up when she saw every red, black, and purple mar across his chest. She could guess that there were more on his back, but she didn't move to check. Some of these marks were turning yellow, as though they were healing.

_This wasn't a one time thing, _she thought. _She does this to him... regularly._

She ran her fingertips across one white mark that was quite obviously an old scar. There were actually several of them. When she looked up at Danny's face, there were tears beginning to stream down his cheeks.

Carefully, she took his hands in hers once again and lifted his wrists, kissing the marks gently, first one and then the other. He took a deep breath, but she somehow knew that this time it wasn't from pain. Moving on, she kissed his arms, his shoulders, every place with an angry mark across it that she could reach. She could feel tears falling into her hair as she laved attention on his beaten chest. When she was through, she took him in her arms and ran her fingers through his hair until the shudders wracking his strong frame had stopped for the most part.

She pulled back just a bit and took his face between both of her hands, looking him straight in the eye. "Listen to me very carefully, Danny," she said in a gentle yet commanding tone. "You are not to let her do this to you again. You don't belong to her anymore, understand? You are stronger than the hold she has on you. You _cannot_ let her hurt you again. You don't deserve it. I know you can stand up to her and, one day, you will. One day, you'll march right into that office, reach into that mason jar, pull your balls out of it, and wave them in her face before re-attaching them," she paused with a smile as he laughed softly through his quieting tears. "And you'll say to her, 'Cast ye back to hell, bitch!' or something to that effect... Do you understand me? _Never_ again. Got it?"

He merely nodded.

"Good," she said. "Come on." She helped him off of the uncomfortable couch and pulled him with her down the hall to her bedroom with its large puffy bed. When she'd stripped him out of his pants down to his boxers, she removed her own clothes, blushing slightly as he stared, and then took a large purple nightshirt with a kitten on the front out of her dresser.

He looked at her askance, gesturing at the shirt. "You... don't want to...?"

She threw it over her head and came back to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I really don't think that's what you need tonight," she said. "Right now, all I want to do is hold you. That's okay with you, isn't it?"

"Yes," he said instantly, holding her to him very tightly, nuzzling his cheek against the top of her head. "Yes, yes, yes... Thank you. Thank you, Teri."

In answer, she leaned up on tip-toe and gave him a brief kiss. Then, she helped him up into the bed and was about to get into it herself when she remembered something.

"Shit!" she exclaimed, her eyes going wide.

"What?" he asked.

"The ice cream! I left it on the floor!"

She ran back out into the front room and sighed as she picked up the gooey mess that had melted inside the grocery bag. As she threw it in the garbage under the sink, she knew she'd get a horrified lecture from Chloe later for wasting perfectly good ice cream. "Well," she said, softly. "There's always... next time." And there _would_ be a next time if she had _anything_ to say about it. Hot fudge sundae abs, damn it!

To be continued...

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you to all of our readers who continue to be patient with us! We're trying to get the chapters up sooner...


	6. The Huntsman

"Reduced To This"

By Angel Sentier and Lady Parsley

Chapter Six

Ginger looked out of the nearby window again, but the night still looked clear. She sighed, annoyed, sure it was going to be snowing, despite their airid location. Because Princess and Staci had managed to find suitable escorts for the evening, although Ginger wouldn't have touched them with an ugly stick, and she was still stuck at the bar on her own. Unheard of!

She glanced at her watch, and shook her head. It was approaching a very tacky hour to be alone at a bar, and she couldn't pretend to be waiting for someone, that just screamed 'Tessa.' That did it, time to call in reinforcements, before any more creepy guys tried to send her a drink.

Reaching into her reticule, she pulled out a gold cigarette case and opened it. But instead of cigarettes, it held an arsenal of business cards. She looked at the first one, which only had a number printed on a plain white card and brought with it the memory of the last time she'd been alone at a bar. The blond guy...Hector. As she recalled, he was rather cute. _He'll do_, she decided, and dialed the number on her cell phone.

"I knew you'd call," Hector's voice growled through the receiver.

"Sure you did," she answered with a smirk. "Up for a drink?"

"Depends," he said. "Who's buying?"

"You are. But you can drink it with me. I think that's a fair trade." On the other end of the phone he laughed, but there was no mirth in it and it made her smile. It wasn't often she met someone who knew how to play the 'cat and mouse' game as well as she did. She mentioned the name of the bar, adding "You coming or not?"

He paused for a moment, as though considering, which irked her a little, but he responded, "I'll be there."

-----------------------------------------

Ginger only had to wait about fifteen minutes before Hector showed, sporting a leather jacket over a plain shirt and pants, definitely not what she was used to, but not a detriment to his looks, she decided. He spotted her nearly at once and smirked lightly, beginning to meander over, very sure of himself. She almost laughed. In her experience, that sort of cockiness was a trademark of someone who was just _dying _to follow orders.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," he said.

"You don't sound sorry."

He shrugged. "I'm not, really." He turned to the bartender and ordered a Guinness without waiting for the man to ask him what he wanted then took a seat on the barstool next to Ginger's.

"You're kidding," she asked, incredulous. "Beer? What are you, a frat boy?"

"One, frat boys can't afford Guinness. Two, it's not beer. And three, we can't all drink Cosmos rimmed in pink sugar and hold our heads up high, your majesty."

She raised an eyebrow. "I kind of like that. You can call me 'your majesty' all night."

He laughed, shortly and again without mirth. "Not likely." He took his drink, the sleeve of his jacket inching up a little. It was only for a moment, but Ginger knew the sight of blood very well.

"You have blood on your wrist, by the way," she said.

"Don't worry, it's not mine," he said, taking a long drink.

"Did I sound worried? My mistake. There's also some in your hair. You might want to consider taking a shower, instead of just washing your hands in a gas station bathroom after your 'business affairs,'" she said sweetly, making little quote marks in the air with her fingers. He was staring at her, the drink forgotten in his hand, as if to say 'what do you know?' She rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Relax. When you've swam with the sharks for as long as I have, you're not afraid of a tiny little barracuda. I'm not going to tell anybody your dark, dirty little secrets… Whatever they are."

"Well," he said, setting the glass aside. "I was just going to have a drink and take off, but now I'm intrigued."

"Oh, _now_ I intrigue you?" she asked. "So glad I could serve as your amusement! I've got news for you… You're here at _my _behest. My amusement. Got that?"

"I don't know who the hell you think you are--"

"I'm _bored_. Why else would I have called you? Last I checked, you were the one who said a beautiful woman might find herself in need of a guy like you. Well… I'm in need. What are you going to do about it?"

He looked at her for a moment, a strange light in his eyes, which was odd because the bar was dim. One of his hands reached for her, and his fingers slid through her red hair at the back of her neck, tightening he pulled her towards him. His mouth neared her ear and she heard him growl back in his throat.

"Down boy," she whispered to him. To emphasize, her hand quickly reached between his legs, digging her nails lightly but firmly into his lower appendages. He inhaled sharply, but didn't move otherwise. She had expected him to let go… "Interesting." She smiled, but knew he'd still be the first to release if she just--

An annoying chirping interrupted that chain of thought and Hector growled in frustration, letting go of Ginger's hair and reaching into his shirt pocket to produce his cell phone. To her further outrage, he turned his back to her to answer it. She couldn't hear much of the conversation, but she was able to tell that it was definitely a woman on the other end of the phone. As if another woman could be more important than her!

"Damn it, Abby, if he can't take care of the problem, I'll do it myself!" He hung up and turned back to Ginger, his expression very dark. It was an expression she knew well… She frequently used it while thinking about what to do with Snowden. "Something's come up. I have to go," he said.

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not done with you yet," she said in a low voice.

"Apparently, my business isn't finished."

"_I'm_ your business right now."

"Call it a… family emergency then."

"If you were one of my employees, I'd make you take a vacation day."

"Well, I'm not. So deal with it."

"No, you're not… Yet."

"This isn't the time or the place to discuss business."

"I quite agree. Business should be left for the office." She produced a card. "Meet me at mine at ten."

"I'm in bed at ten."

"In the morning?"

"In the morning."

She sighed. "Fine. When's this family emergency expected to be dealt with?"

He shrugged. "Maybe by four this morning."

"Then meet me at five. My secretary isn't due in until six. _Don't_ keep me waiting."

-------------------------------------

Ginger rapped her nails rhythmically against her desk top. "Five in the morning is an ungodly hour to be in an empty office building," she decided, having started talking to herself about ten minutes ago. She looked at the clock on the wall which was steadily ticking toward 5:15. "I told him not to keep me waiting," she said, growing more annoyed as the second hand moved onward. "Why then have I been waiting for fifteen minutes? He needs to learn manners. That's good to know. _Why _do I care? Am I really _that_ bored?" She considered for a moment. "Maybe I am… Phillip will soon be acquired… Danny is just too easy… But this one… This one will be fun to break. A challenge, of sorts. Only, how to do it… I don't have much in the way of equipment here…" She closed her eyes for a few seconds, then reached down and opened the bottom drawer of her desk. A crystal carafe of deep red wine and a glass lay waiting for her. "That should do the trick."

The door at the other end of the room opened, and she quickly closed the drawer, looking up. Her eyes widened at the sight of him… Someone had beat him up rather viciously. With absolutely no finesse, either. "You look… less than stellar," she said, dryly. With half a smirk, she added "How was she?"

"Unimpressive and unimportant," he muttered, favoring his left shoulder with his right hand.

"You let unimpressive and unimportant people beat the shit out of you?" She gave him a small half-smile. "That will change."

Hector came closer and sat down in the chair across from the desk, obviously not in the mood or the shape to continue their previous game. "This is your office. This is your office building. You come here to discuss business. What business do we have?"

She waited for a moment, considering. "Do you like wine, Hector?"

"At five in the morning?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This is your bedtime, isn't it? Consider it a nightcap." She opened the drawer and produced the wine and the glass, pouring him a generous amount. She came around to the other side of the desk, sitting on top of it and crossing her long legs in front of him as she handed him the drink. "Your health."

He downed it immediately, all at once, surprising her yet again. _That should have caused an instant effect, _she thought, but he was still looking at her, perfectly lucid. _What kind of-- _But as she thought it, his head began to sway and the glass fell from his grip as his eyes rolled back in his head slightly. _There it is_, she thought with satisfaction.

He blinked his eyes and shook his head, placing one hand to his temple. "What was that?" he asked, obviously unused to the reaction.

"What? Can't you _handle_ it?" she asked, sarcastically.

She watched as the firey light entered his eyes, the same glassy, almost frantic look that she'd seen in Danny so many times, but there was something else too… Before she could react, he'd sprung from his chair, his injuries forgotten due to the effects in the wine, and pinned her on her back to her desk.

Ginger only gave him a dark smile. "Oh, no no…" she said. "This won't do."

-----------------------------------------

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit in a teaspoon!" Chloe exclaimed in an undertone as she rushed into the office, borrowing one of Tessa's favorite sayings. Running into Jeff had made her even later than she was already. She plunked her purse on the desk and began turning on the computer. She pushed the flashing button on the office's answering machine.

_Chloe, this is Danny. I'm really sorry, but tell Ginger I'm sick. I'm not coming in today. I'll owe you lunch, okay? And dinner. See you tomorrow._

Chloe's eyes widened to twice their normal size. Danny, calling in? That was _unheard _of. Ginger was NOT going to like this… But at least she had a few hours to come up with an excuse. "Thank God they're never here on time--"

"CHLOE!"

_Fuck_. Chloe turned to look at the door to Ginger's office. _The one day, the ONE day she comes in on time..._

Only Ginger's head and one bare shoulder was visible to Chloe through the partially open door, but the look on her face was still enough to terrify. "You're late," she said, unnecessarily. "Forty-eight minutes late, to be exact."

"I'm really sorry," said Chloe, already knowing it was useless. "I had to pick up Princess…"

"Are you Princess' secretary? No, you're MINE, Chloe! And I pay MY secretary to be here on time!"

"I'll try not to let it happen again…"

"You're damn right you won't. Go and get me my coffee, then go to my town house and get me my emerald Chanel suit and matching Jimmy Choo shoes. And take off those clod hoppers you wear before you go in, I don't want any filth on my floor!"

------------------------------

Ginger closed the office door and turned back to her desk chair, where Hector was nicely trussed up in extension cords from the supply closet. "Now…" she said with a smile as she sauntered back to him, totally naked. "Who do you want?"

To be continued…

Author's Note: WE ARE SO SORRY FOR BEING NEGLIGENT! Unfortunately, life happened and kind of, well… devoured our writing time. But we promise that we're back and will be bringing you more regular updates from now on! Thank you to everyone who didn't give up on us and waited patiently for the next chapter! Much love to all of you.

--Angel and Parsley--


	7. Hold My Calls

"Reduced to This"

By Angel Sentier and Lady Parsley

Chapter Seven

Teri thought, at first, that she was being awakened from her favorite dream, only to be brought _into_ her favorite dream... only the reality brought with it, along with the light kisses on the soft, warm flesh of her neck that sent tiny electric shocks up to her not-_even_-ready-to-wake-up brain, the smell of pork.

_Why does my favorite dream smell like pork? _was her first thought. _It's way too early to think about that, _was her second thought. Her third thought, as the sensations continued and began to increase in fervor, was, _Maybe I don't mind so much..._

"I now understand why you are continuously late for work," Daniel purred against her ear, his breath tickling as much as it tantalized. "You sleep more deeply than anyone I have ever met."

"It's a gift." She shut her eyes, half out of defiance to the morning, and half to take in the barrage of pleasure Danny was raining down on her. She could feel his bare chest rubbing against her upper back, just below the nape of her neck. His hips were grinding against her legs, the movement too deliberate to be instinctive. More than that, she felt the _biggest_ erection pressing against her ass and she sighed deeply.

"Ahhh... There's nothing like a romp through the morning wood," she said, laughing nervously. Danny stopped for a moment, considered, and then laughed along with her.

"That _would_ be absolutely fan-fucking-tastic, I have to agree," he said, between light kisses along her spine which caused Teri to squirm deliciously against him.

"But I guess you have to get to work," she said after a moment, disappointment creeping into her tone.

"No."

She blinked. "No?"

"Remember?" he said, craning his neck to look at her, eyes flashing mischievously. "You said that if I stayed, I'd be calling into work today. I've already called Chloe's phone at work."

Teri rolled over to look at him fully in stunned disbelief. Danny Peer just called in to work... for her? A wide grin lit up her face as she threw her arms around his neck. "Danny! I think you just got your balls back!"

He buried his face against her shoulder for a moment, trying not to snicker. "You really think so?"

"Well, I didn't say they'd been reattached or anything..." She leaned up and kissed him playfully. "I think maybe you're just holding onto them." She kissed him again, for a bit longer this time. "Mmmm... Or maybe I should check and make sure..."

Teri ran her fingers from his chest, down his stomach, which caused him to giggle and then hastily try and cover it up. She quirked one eyebrow. "Sensitive stomach?" she asked.

"Maybe a little," he admitted, sheepishly.

She gave a small wicked smile. "Oh,. I see definite possibilities in this..." However, her smile turned into a frown as her nostrils flared. "Is something burning?" The pork smell she'd almost forgotten or maybe had been ignoring was changing into a slight charcoal aroma.

Danny's eyes widened and he leapt from the bed. "The bacon!" he exclaimed. She was afforded a momentarily stunning view of his well-sculpted backside as he ran down the hall toward the kitchen. He returned in a few minutes with a large tray, full of food.

Teri sat up. "You made me breakfast?"

"I hope you don't mind," he said, placing the tray next to her. "The bacon's a little... crisp."

The man boggled her senses. "Mind? My kitchen hasn't seen food since I moved in here! Did you not see the overabundance of take out cartons in the fridge? You defrosted arctic bacon for me and then tried to cook it... I'm overjoyed! Now, get in this bed and feed me, damn it, and then fuck the hell out of me!"

And she wasn't sure, but just before he moved to do her bidding, she thought she saw his cheeks turn pink a little. That was worth any amount of crisp bacon. Just as he was lifting a forkful of eggs and cheese to her lips, however, the phone rang.

"Ugh," sighed Teri in mild frustration. "Just ignore it. It's only Chloe calling to tell me how late I am for work."

The phone rang five times before the message machine picked up.

_If you know I'm asleep, you're better off hanging up. I'll get your message when I'm good and ready. Bye! _Beeeeeep.

"Where are you?" came Chloe's panicked voice from the machine. "I know you're always late, but you _can't_ be late today! _Ginger's_ not even late today! She was early! EARLY, Teri! You know what this means! The world is coming to an end! The universe is imploding! Oh, my God, I can't breathe..." Her message dissolved into heavy breathing for a few moments.

"She sounds really upset," said Danny. "Maybe you should pick up."

"Nah," said Teri. "She does something like this every morning. Although Ginger being early is a new one..."

The heavy breathing continued for another few seconds. "Is it wrong that I'm kind of turned on?" asked Danny.

Teri thwacked him in the arm as Chloe resumed talking. "Okay, okay, I can breathe..." She took one more deep breath. "All I have to say to you is, where is Danny's body because you must have killed him. Or you brainwashed him. Either way, his body isn't where it's supposed to be and it needs to be here!"

She pushed Danny onto his back, climbing on top of him. "Would you consider this killing or brainwashing you?" she asked, conversationally.

"If you want it to be, sure," answered Danny.

"Come on, Teri, I need you to wake up now," continued Chloe. "Come on, please, Teri! I'm asking you, I'm begging you, please answer your phone! Get up and get to the phone, get up, get up, up, up, up!"

Teri grinned down at Danny. "You heard the woman, come on, submissive boy, get up, chop chop!" she said, clapping her hands for emphasis.

"That is so wrong," he said, shaking his head.

"Shut up, you get off on it."

Completely unaware of what was going on at that end of the phone, Chloe went on. "At least answer the phone and tell me what's going on, because I am confused as all hell! Ginger's here early, Danny's _not_ here, Jeff looks like he got beat with the same bat Danny got beat with... the kind with wings and teeth... and I don't know where Tessa is but I loaned Jeff the company jet and--"

Ceasing to listen after that almost nonsensical tidbit of knowledge, Teri looked at Danny, fear and terror growing in her eyes as her smile quickly faded. "Just a minute..." She very regrettably climbed down from her perch and stumbled to the phone. "What is this about loaning Jeff the company jet?" she said into the receiver without preamble.

"Good morning to you too!" said Chloe. "Where the hell is Danny? And why are you not at work? And why is Ginger _at_ work? What the hell is going on!"

"Stop yelling at me, you're going to give yourself another panic attack!"

"Too late! About an hour too late!"

"Calm down before I kill you."

"You'd have to be at work to do that."

"I'll go into work to do it and then I'll leave. Why did you loan Jeff the company jet? Let's think about this for a minute... You handed a several million dollar piece of machinery to a _waiter_? That's one hell of a tip, Chloe!"

"I had to! He had the puppy eyes!"

Teri paused. Chloe was making less sense as this conversation went on. "_What_?"

"They were there, and he was looking at me, and... I gave him the jet."

"...You need Thorazine!"

"Shut up! You didn't see the puppy eyes! It was like this big sad puppy was looking at me, begging me for food! I couldn't say no to the puppy eyes, he restored my faith in men for a moment!"

"And we all know how much you love animals... You're psychotic!" Teri took a deep breath. "Okay, puppy eyes aside... WHY did you give it to him?"

"He couldn't find Tessa."

"He knows where she lives! Doesn't he have her phone number?"

"She left last night for New York!"

"What? Okay, you're _definitely_ not making any sense."

"I _know_!" said Chloe, only steps away from beginning to wail, and Teri knew that once she got started, she wouldn't stop.

"Okay, okay," she said, attempting to be calm. "Why don't you meet me at the Canard and you can explain everything over ice cream. You like ice cream, ice cream will make it allllll better..."

"We can't go to the Canard, Jeff isn't there! They beat him up! Weren't you _listening_?"

"Who's _they_?"

"I don't know! Something about dishes and a vat of knives... He got beat up, okay?"

"You do realize that there are _other_ waiters at the Canard, right?" She shook her head, holding the phone away from her ear for a moment and taking another deep breath. One of them had to be sane for this conversation to continue and it was still _way_ too early in the morning for it to be Teri. "Look, I can't deal with you when you're not making any sense. Do you _realize_ what I'm giving up right now by talking to you? Rock hard abs! Hot fudge sundae! It _will_ be mine!"

There was a pause as Chloe presumably added things up. "Oh, please not today," she begged. "Please Teri, for the love of God and all things holy... Not today! The devil doesn't like it when you play with her toys, she gets mad! Any other day but today! As your friend, I'm begging you... Please send Danny to work!"

Teri paused, considering. "After I'm done with him," she said and hung up. Chloe damn well owed her this much.

"After you're done with me?" asked Danny as she came back to the bedroom.

"It won't happen today," said Teri. "I have way too many wonderful fantasies running around in my head for me to be through with you all in one day. But I'll settle for a few before I send you off."

Danny smiled. "Well, what first?"

"First," she said, imperiously. "You need to get up, find your clothes, and go get me some more ice cream."

"Where are my clothes?"

"I've hidden them in strategic places around the room."

He got up and started by checking under the bed... pulling them out a moment later. "Um... I've found them," he said, a slightly confused look on his face.

"Okay, so I'm not very strategic." She hopped back up on the bed. "Well, go on! I'll be waiting."

Obediently, he bowed his head. "Yes, Teri," he said in a soft tone.

A thrill ran up her spine, different than the ones she'd experienced earlier. _Yeah... _she thought. _I think I could get used to that._

To be continued...

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: With my apologies, I have to admit that these stories will probably never get finished. I have been asking to write more for nearly a year now, and getting no response. So, it is with deep regret that I put this story and the two we had yet to write on indefinite hiatus. Not my choice, I'm very sorry.

Sincerely, Angel Sentier

------NEWS!------  
If you enjoyed this story and it's companions and want more... We are currently adapting these stories as Audio Dramas! So, you can hear Teri, Danny, and everyone else as these stories are woven together in an on-going radio play! And it's not just what we have of these stories, oh no... The audio series will go above and beyond what's on these pages. We're very excited about it and thought we'd share this with our readers who have been so supportive and patient with us.  
For more information, please visit pendantaudio dot com and please have a listen to the other shows as well, the people at Pendant Audio are so multi-talented and their shows are very entertaining! (And you may hear me and Parsley acting in them, as well!)  
Happy listening!

--Angel Sentier--


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